Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has written to the chief justices of all 25 high courts, calling for urgent action to fill mounting judicial vacancies and urging them to prioritise the elevation of women judges.
The CJI highlighted the scale of vacancies across the higher judiciary and stressed the need for high court collegiums to expedite recommendations, not just for existing posts but also for those likely to arise in the near future.
According to data, 309 positions (27.5%) remain vacant in high courts against a sanctioned strength of 1,122 judges as of February 10.
The CJI urged chief justices to ensure that recommendations are not delayed, warning that any lag at the high court level has a cascading effect on the entire appointment pipeline.
He also called on high court collegiums to give special attention to identifying and recommending suitable women candidates for elevation, an area where representation continues to lag.
Official figures show that only 116 of the 813 working high court judges are women, accounting for just 14.27%.
The CJI’s intervention comes amid growing concern over the gender imbalance on constitutional benches, even as entry-level representation in the judiciary has shown marked improvement.
He suggested that high courts broaden their search for talent where local candidates are not readily available and consider women advocates from other states who are currently practising in the Supreme Court.
The move signals a shift towards a more flexible, pan-India approach to judicial appointments, particularly aimed at addressing the persistent under-representation of women.
